Dolls In My Embrace

Wrapped Around Your Finger

Hello peeps!!! And welcome to another one of my one-chapter stories hahaha! I actually started this one a couple months ago but never had the time and right mood to continue until this day. And once again, this was inspired by a song so please listen to it while reading because i think it sets off the right mood yknow?? Hahah well it's time for me to stop talking now. Enjoy the story!!!

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During the day, the boardwalk is coated with people. Their heads turn in search of rides, activities, food, or bathrooms, while wearing sunglasses or squinting eyes due to the blinding sunlight. During the night, however, it's quite different. There's no sign of anyone on the boardwalk and the wind picks up as the moon hovers high above you. The energized part of this public spot is shut down, but the beach is freely open. The waves crash down and reaches the shallows, taking the sand with them like it's a collection, and they do this repeatedly...

Crash.

Crash.

"Crashed," he said, "I crashed the car in the middle of the night. For f*ck's sake! Oh my-" Frustration took over him and he threw a rock, hard. "Why did you have to be here? Huh? Stupid lamp post!" The young man kicked the cause of his car's destruction, stubbing his toe in the process. "Damn it!" With that, he threw another rock in the same direction he did before. His uncle would send him back to Toronto when he finds out that he crashed his car, and he didn't want to go back to his mom.

With a lot of hesitation, he finally gave in to calling for help... until his battery percentage drained to zero in the middle of the ring.  The young man prepared to throw his phone but figured that it was too important to him, so he picked up another rock and threw it, but a girl caught it this time around.

His eyes grew wide in realization that he's been throwing rocks at her window, and it was safe to assume that he'd woken her up.

Awkwardly, he waved at the beautiful girl as he leaned back on the broken vehicle. She did not wave back and instead, shut the window closed.

He sighed and stared at the ground while brainstorming ideas on how he's going to get home to his uncle. It became a little breezy so he went inside the car to warm up. Seconds later, the girl appeared at his window and his heart jumped along with him, shocked at the way she just stood there. He opened the car door and she started talking.

"Having trouble?" She said.

"Uhm, yes. As you can see, my car crashed into this stupid lamp post over here and my phone died so I can't call for help, but you know, it's no big deal, right?"

She rose her eyebrows.

"Well... I'm surprised you didn't wake up from the sound of the crash."

"I was already awake. I was doing my project and I was going to call for help later on, but you kept distracting me with those rocks you kept throwing at my poor window. So then I decided to come down and throw a rock at your window as well but figured that your vehicle is damaged enough."

He chuckled at that and contemplated before saying, "You're funny... Wanna grab something to eat?"

"In the middle of the night?"

"It's never too late to eat. I mean, what are 24 hours fast food restaurants for?"

"I guess."

"So... let's go then?"

"Sure."

And so, in the middle of the night they got food from Burger King that was open 24 hours. Both were hungry and ate their burgers and fries really quickly. They then saw the sign of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and decided to head there. One out of the two B's on the sign was still open, so they walked to the beach, taking their time until they reached the sand. Both took their shoes off and started running closer to the water, where they laid down and stared at the stars while listening to the sounds of waves crashing as if it was a song.

They gazed at the beautiful, twinkling and sparkling stars until they stared at something more remarkable; their eyes. They stared at each other's eyes for a while until the girl looked back at the broad sky. She then took a doll out of her jacket and he questioned it.

"Aren't you too old for dolls?" He chuckled.

"No one is too old for dolls, especially me. I have tons of them. It's like a collection for me. Some day, I want to be designing the most amazing dolls children has ever seen."

"And I'm sure they'll love to play with them."

The two smiled at each other and talked about the path they wanted to take as they grow older. While most people connected the stars, the two connected their similarities...

"Yeah, and I could be the model of your racer dolls." They laughed and once again, stared at each other's eyes... and once again, the girl was the one to break it up.

Standing up, she said, "It was late earlier but now it's really really late, so I better go back before my mom notices that I'm gone."

"Okay then, suit yourself. I'll be here all night. The sand is like a bed." He laughed and looked at the sky. "But uh, I had a great time with you." When he didn't hear a response, he turned his head and saw no one there.

He stood up and turned around, seeing her walking away with another doll on her other hand. He looked closely at the toy until he felt like he was getting choked and couldn't breathe. He fell to the sand and that's when she turned around to look at him. He reached his hand out, signaling that he needed help, but she just stood there and shrugged while grasping both dolls on their necks as if she was saying 'sorry, my hands are full'. He looked into her eyes that was now drained of the sparkle in them.

He thought he was going to die, until she dropped both dolls to the ground and ran away fast.

He breathed hard and another man with sweats and earphones knelt beside him to ask if he was okay.

•

The night went by fast and the sun rose quickly.

The jogger gave him water and soon he was fine, and as he planned, he spent the night lying on the sand. Now it was morning, and it was time to confront her.

As he neared the house, he took a look at the window that started it all, and then he knocked on her door, not having any idea of what to say to her. He pondered about how to greet her until the door finally opened. Though, the elderly people were not who he was expecting.

"Uhm," he started, "May I speak with your daughter please?"

The old couple looked at each other in confusion and then the woman spoke. "Sorry child, but you might have the wrong address. We never had a daughter, only a son but... he died years ago."